As a recipe developer with more than 15 years of experience, I’ll let you in on a little secret: I bake with store-bought cake mixes all the time. They’re one of my most-used pantry staples, so I always stay stocked up on a variety of flavors for tasty treats in a flash. I use the mixes to whip up quick desserts like dump cakes and angel bars, or to make simple, easy cakes that I take to the next level with homemade frosting.
As someone who always grabs the same brand, I was surprised to see just how many spice cake mixes were available at my local grocery store. They all looked pretty similar, so I needed a solid answer: Which store-bought version is the best? I asked some experts to weigh in.
The Bakers I Asked
Credit: Simply Recipes / Duncan Hines
The Best Boxed Cake Mix, According to the Pros
Even with the similarities between the available options, the bakers all preferred one mix: Duncan Hines Perfectly Moist Spice Cake. It has a delicate crumb, a balanced moist-yet-springy texture, and an affordable price. It also comes in the classic 15.25-ounce size when other brands have reduced the amount in their boxes, which is especially important when you’re baking recipes passed down from family.
According to Randolph, quality and consistency matter a lot when choosing a cake mix. “I tend to reach for a trusted brand when it comes to cake mixes. You want a guarantee that it’ll turn out correctly every time—that’s the appeal of the mix.” I agree—making desserts that come out the same every time is important to me as a home baker.
Duncan Hines is Branch’s favorite because it has enough fall spice flavor. “What stands out to me about the Duncan Hines spice cake mix is that it has a lot more of those cozy spices you want in a spice cake than other mixes. I’ve had to add extra spices to other spice cake mixes before. I don’t need to do that with the Duncan Hines mix, which is what makes it my go-to.”
The stronger flavor is also why Stringfellow chooses Duncan over other brands she has tested. “I got notes of clove and nutmeg. I think that extra boost of spice would make it more versatile in fall baking because sometimes the spice can be lost under, say, frosting.”
Randolph also points out the many ways a box of this cake mix can be the start of a recipe: “It’s a nice all-purpose spice cake that you can use to make a sheet cake, cupcakes, layer cake, bundt cake, and even cookies and bars.” The pros all agree that when it comes to store-bought spice cake mix, Duncan Hines is the clear winner.
Read the original article on Simply Recipes